Hawaiʻi’s newest doctors to begin training as MD residents

As Hawaiʻi‘s newest physicians get ready to begin their medical residency training, a video from the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) sheds light on how some Class of 2018 graduates selected their specialties and what they are most looking forward to on becoming doctors.

More than half of the members of the University of Hawaiʻi medical school Class of 2018 have chosen to continue their training on the front lines of medicine. More than 60 percent of the new doctors will begin their careers in primary care or primary contact specialties.

Teresa Choe, a resident of Kona on Hawaiʻi Island, is going into emergency medicine. She hopes to become a beacon of hope for patients who wind up in the ER. “A lot of people, they don’t want to be in the emergency room,” said Choe, who will do her residency training in New York since emergency medicine specialty training is not available in Hawaiʻi. “To have the opportunity to meet them there on one of the worst days of their lives, and to be able to serve them in that setting, is an extreme privilege.”

Nina Beckwith of Kailua will stay in Hawaiʻi to begin her residency training at the UH Family Medicine Program. A former science teacher at Waiʻanae Intermediate School, Beckwith finds satisfaction in the prospect of treating an entire family of patients. “We can take care of women who are pregnant and follow them through their pregnancies, deliver their babies and then eventually maybe become the pediatricians for the babies we delivered,” said Beckwith.

Leimomi Kanagusuku of Waiʻanae also finds joy in caring for all patients of all ages. “You get to treat kids, older patients, you get to deal with OB-GYN, a little bit of surgery, so it has that variety that really makes your day special,” said Kanagusuku, who will begin her residency training at the UH Family Medicine Program.